


Snow And Dark, And The Winter Comes

by afteriwake



Series: All Of Time And Space [38]
Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 05:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1885962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both Sherlock and the Doctor have fights with their wives, all revolving around River's desire to go see the Singing Towers of Darillium. As a way to take their minds off of their maritial troubles the Doctor suggests they look into a case that Madame Vastra has brought to his attention that also coincides with something he has been fascinated in: the girl who looks just like Oswin Oswald. Together they deal with the snow that remembers and learn more about who Clara Oswald might be and how she's connected to Oswin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I know I haven't finished the "The Hounds of Baskerville" rewrite yet, but I lost my copy of that episode and doing it off the transcript is really hard. So I do promise I will finish it soon. And I have a few other stories that take place in between that and this that I haven't gotten to write yet, mostly because I've been busy with other stuff. But today is the posting date for **casestory** and I finished it and want to share. This is a Wholock rewrite of the Doctor Who episode "The Snowmen." many thanks to **nickygabriel** for the beautiful banner (and also for running such an awesome community on Livejournal)!

“I can’t _believe_ him!” Amy said in a huff, hanging up the phone. “I love him, I do, but right now…”

“Who are you angry with?” Sherlock asked, looking up from the experiment he was running in the kitchen. He did not really want to hear an extended rant, but at the same time he knew that if she didn’t get it out it was liable to be a much longer diatribe later. It was best to get the information now and then let her stew about it with Lorna, Martha or Elizabeth later.

“Our son-in-law,” she said, moving towards the kitchen. “River was so hurt she came back to this time to talk to us in person, and…and…oh! I just want to give him a stern talking to right now,” she said, frustrated.

“What did he do, exactly?” he asked his wife.

“She wanted to go to the Singing Towers of Darillium and he refused. He told her under no circumstances were they going there, and then it turned into a huge argument.”

The minute Sherlock heard where his daughter wanted to go he froze. He knew _exactly_ why the Doctor didn’t want to take her there, knew it far too well because he had pressed for all the details surrounding his daughter’s inevitable death. He knew that that was the last place that River and the Doctor went before the fateful trip to the Library, where River would sacrifice herself to save her husband and his companion at the time. “No, it’s too soon,” he murmured, more to himself. He did not want to lose River, not yet.

“What?” Amy said, looking at him.

“Maybe he’s in the right,” Sherlock said slowly, looking over at Amy. He was cursing his inquisitive nature right now, cursing that he had had to know all the details about his daughter’s death. Amelia did not want to know. She had told him so explicitly. The less they knew about the future, she had said, the better. He did not have the same feelings towards the subject, so the conversation he had with the Doctor regarding his own personal future and the futures of those he held most dear had been kept from his wife, even though they had had it before his wife had made her opinion known. He hated keeping secrets but he’d _had_ to know.

“No, he’s not,” Amy said, glaring at him. “And what’s so bad about going to see Singing Towers? It’s not as though there’s going to be chaos and panic there.”

“Perhaps not, but he has a reason for not wanting to take her,” Sherlock said.

Amy’s glare turned into a more speculative look. “You know something, don’t you?”

“I may,” he said with a slow nod.

Amy shook her head. “Sherlock, you know how I feel about all that! And you promised.”

“I did no such thing,” he said, getting slightly heated. “I never promised you I would not ask him about our future, or the futures of our children. Just because our daughter spouts ‘Spoilers’ to keep us at bay doesn't mean her husband does as well.”

“So you _did_ talk to him about us.”

“Yes, but mostly about River. I wanted to know how much time we had with her.”

“I don’t believe it,” she murmured. “After I explicitly said I didn’t want to know, that I didn’t want either of us to know, you did it anyway. Unbelievable.”

“I did this before you said something,” he pointed out. “I did this a long time ago, when Melody was merely a few months old. After the incident with my being shot and the Silence.”

“I don’t believe you,” Amy said coldly.

“Why would I lie to you about it?” Sherlock said, throwing his hands up in the air. He knew his voice was rising and that this was all going downhill very fast, but he needed her to see. “I know what lying to you does. I know you hate it. After the cigarettes I promised I would not lie to you again. I meant that, Amelia.”

“You’ve lied to me once about something important,” she said. “What’s to stop you from doing it again?”

He gaped at her slightly. So. She didn’t trust him. He supposed he deserved it, but it still hurt nonetheless. And the fact she brought it up during an argument infuriated him. He thought they were past this. He thought he had been forgiven and they had moved on. Apparently he was wrong. “Yes, I did. And I apologized. Do you want me to walk over hot coals to prove I'm not doing it again? Do you want to go to Scotland Yard and have Lestrade hook me up to a lie detector? What do you want me to _do_ , Amelia?”

“Go. Please,” she said, lowering her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want this fight to get any worse, and if you stay things will get more heated and I don’t know what will happen. Please, just…go.”

Sherlock stared at her for a moment. The experiment could keep for now without him needing to observe it, so he went to the coat rack and grabbed his coat, albeit a little too violently for his taste. He slipped it on and then paused at the stairs. “I am telling you the truth,” he said quietly. When she didn’t respond he headed down the stairs and went outside. This had not gone at all how he had wanted. He hated it when they fought, and even knowing they were together well into old age and survived so much more than a small tiff like this did not help at the moment.

He had no clue where he wanted to go. John was out of town with Lorna, Mickey and Martha were most likely at work, and while he might get some sympathy from his brother he did not want to burden him with the fallout of a domestic spat, and he was fairly sure Elizabeth was going to get involved and that would just be a headache for Mycroft that he didn’t need. He began to walk blindly, and almost walked right by the familiar blue police box. It wasn’t until he heard a throat cleared that he looked over. The Doctor was looking at him, seeming dejected and alone. “I take it your daughter talked to Amelia already,” he said.

“She did,” Sherlock said with a nod, going back to him. “And then Amelia and I had a fight. Today seems to be the day for angry women in the Holmes family, and for their husbands to be the root of it.”

“Well, I had hoped I could get to Amelia first, but I was wrong.”

“She wouldn’t have listened to you explain anyway,” Sherlock said with a shrug. “She certainly made her views on knowing too much of her future plainly known a moment ago.”

“Ah.” The Doctor nodded towards the TARDIS. “I got a call from some old friends. I had thought about not answering it, but perhaps the both of us need a distraction. It appears to be a case of some sort.”

“Where and when?” Sherlock asked, intrigued despite his foul mood.

“London in 1892. Madame Vastra called me with a curious story about snow.” He was quiet. “Did Elizabeth tell you about her travels with me?”

“Some. I will admit I didn’t listen to all of the stories. My wife paid more attention than I did. Is it important?”

“There was a woman we met, a woman named Oswin Oswald. She had been stranded on the Dalek prison planet.”

“I remember that story,” Sherlock said with a slow nod as they approached the TARDIS. “She was converted into a Dalek, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes. And she had managed to retain her humanity until I broke her delusion. I had wondered about her, so I investigated. I saw her photograph, and thought no more about it until Madame Vastra sent me a message. She said that there was something going on, and she took a photograph of a snowman with a modern camera I had left behind in case it was needed. But the woman behind it looked all too familiar.”

Sherlock watched as the Doctor snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors opened. He stepped inside and immediately he was hit by how different it all looked. “It changed in here,” he said.

“We had a problem on one of our trips and the entire inside of the TARDIS was ruined. Completely trashed. And then it shut us out and rebuilt itself.” The Doctor moved to the console, patting it fondly. “River doesn’t like it very much, but I think it's nice.”

“Amelia probably won’t like it either,” Sherlock said

“Like mother like daughter, I suppose,” he said with a sigh.

Sherlock shut the door behind him and then began examining the walls. “Is that the language of your home planet?” he asked, pointing to the top of the walls.

The Doctor nodded. “Circular Gallifreyan. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is quite exquisite,” he replied approvingly. “Is it hard to learn?”

“I imagine I could teach you, if you really want to learn,” his son-in-law replied with a faint smile. “At least the written part. You'd never be able to speak it. Would you like to learn it?”

“I would,” Sherlock replied with a nod. “But that can keep for another time.”

“Yes, of course.” He nodded towards the monitor on the console and Sherlock came closer. The Doctor pulled up two images, side by side. One looked like a young woman posing for a portrait of some sort, in more modern clothing. The other was mostly of a snowman, but Sherlock leaned closer and saw a woman in Victorian era dress. “Tell me what you see, Sherlock.”

Sherlock studied the face in the second picture, and his eyes widened slightly. “I see the same woman. But that’s impossible. There were hundreds of years difference between them.”

The Doctor nodded. “I thought much the same thing. She’s just as compelling a mystery as the snow that remembers.”

“Snow that remembers?” Sherlock asked.

“Yes. Apparently Jenny watched as the snow fell and formed itself into a snowman. And not a particularly friendly looking snowman. Rather demonic. Do you see it in that picture, how it looks particularly menacing?” he asked, pointing to the Victorian era picture.

Sherlock pulled his attention away from the woman and instead towards the snowman. “That is rather disturbing,” he said. “And it formed all by itself, she said?”

“Yes, and there’s more than just the one in London. I want to investigate it.”

“And the girl as well,” Sherlock said, turning to the Doctor.

“Yes. She works at the Rose & Crown, which is where that photograph was taken.”

“Then we should head there first,” he replied.

“No, Madame Vastra’s home first. After we get you in period clothing, of course.” Then he looked at his own clothes. “And me as well, I suppose. Normally I do not mind if we look slightly out of place, but I think in this instance it would be best if we blended in. Looking as though we belong is the best way to slip in unnoticed.”

“I find it to be the best way myself,” Sherlock said with a nod. “Did the entire layout of the TARDIS change?”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Though the rooms appear to be the same. My room was exactly as I had left it, and when I found your old room it was exactly the same.”

“Amelia will be glad for that. Do you know where the closet is?”

“I do,” he replied. “Follow me, Sherlock. I’ll make sure we look like appropriately stuffy Victorian aristocrats.”

“You can’t pull off aristocrat,” Sherlock said with a faint smile as he followed the Doctor deeper into the TARDIS.

“I can try, though.”


	2. Chapter 2

He felt very uncomfortable, he realized. It was not that the suit wasn’t well cut, and it was not that it was a bad style. But it was not _his_ style. He knew he would get used to it the more he wore it, and so he kept his complaints to a minimum. The Doctor was conversing with Madame Vastra and Jenny in the room where she took her potential clients, and he was examining things.

“The lizard would not like it if she saw you poking around through her belongings,” Strax said from his left. That had been a surprise; last Sherlock had heard, Strax had been dropped back off at the battlefield where he had been picked up to help find Amelia and Melody a year ago. He had wondered how the squat little alien had gotten to the Victorian era, but had not wanted to ask.

“She is a detective. She will understand,” Sherlock murmured, glancing at a piece of art. “And besides, I'm not touching anything. She will appreciate that.”

“The boy nearly ripped my head off the last time I touched something in this room,” Strax said sullenly.

“The boy?” he asked, turning to look at Strax. “What boy?”

“That boy,” Strax said, pointing at Jenny, who stood up. “She has a vicious streak a mile wide.”

Sherlock smiled slightly. “Strax, Jenny is female. She is not a boy.”

“Then what do you call her?”

“A woman.”

“Thank you, Sherlock,” Jenny said with a warm smile as she came up to his side. “We’ve been trying to get him to see that there are two genders, not just one.”

“If you are not a boy then why do you insist on wearing men’s clothing?” Strax asked, leaning in towards Sherlock to get closer to Jenny.

“Because there is much more that can be done in trousers than skirts,” Jenny said, leaning in on Sherlock’s other side to send a mild glare to Strax.

“You’re a foul tempered harpy,” Strax said.

“And you’re an oversized trigger-happy potato,” Jenny replied.

Sherlock took a step back as the volley of insults increased. In moments it would overpower whatever conversation the Doctor and Madame Vastra were trying to have. He made his way over to the two of them and waited patiently for them to notice him. “Please have a seat, Sherlock,” Madame Vastra said after a moment. “Help yourself to tea.”

“Thank you,” he said, sitting in the chair Jenny had been sitting in when they all gathered in the room. He reached over for an empty cup and poured himself some tea. “Are the two of them always like that?”

“I’m afraid so,” Madame Vastra said, wincing slightly as Jenny’s voice rose. She cleared her throat, but neither of them seemed to hear her. She cleared it again, a bit louder, but that too went unnoticed. Finally she sighed. “Will you both kindly stop?” she called over.

“Sorry,” Jenny said, giving one last glare to Strax. She came back over and sat in the chair opposite of the one she had been sitting in. “He just infuriates me sometimes, that’s all.”

“Why is he here, anyway?” Sherlock asked after taking a sip of his tea. “The last I heard he was back on that battlefield.”

“The war ended,” the Doctor said. “He sent me a message asking for excitement and danger. Madame Vastra volunteered to have him serve as her footman and occasional back-up in the tight spots.”

“I see,” Sherlock said. “And he and Jenny are like oil and water?”

“If you can believe it, they used to be worse.” Madame Vastra reached over and patted Jenny’s thigh lightly. “Now there are maybe ten arguments a week, as opposed to ten a day.”

“I try for you,” Jenny said.

“And that is one reason why I married you,” Madame Vastra said to her wife with a smile. “Speaking of marriage, the Doctor has told me both you and he are currently arguing with your wives. Is it a large problem?”

“Yes,” Sherlock and the Doctor chorused.

“My wife wants me to take her to the last place we’ll go together before she dies,” the Doctor replied.

“And my wife thinks I lied to her again,” Sherlock said.

“Again?” Jenny asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

“I promised her I would quit smoking when she and Melody were returned safely,” he said. “Then I kept smoking for over a year and lied to her the entire time. I thought we were past this. Apparently we were not.”

“It isn’t good to lie to those we love, but when it comes to vices it is understandable,” Madame Vastra said, inclining her head slightly. “And I will say it is not fair to use a past indiscretion such as that against you in another fight. It must still bother her.”

“Apparently,” Sherlock said. “And to top it off, I took the Doctor’s side in the argument he had with my daughter.”

“Your daughter is his wife?” Strax asked from the side. “How on Earth is that possible?”

“Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff,” the Doctor replied. “But yes. The baby all of you rescued grows up and regenerates into my wife River.”

“To think that your lives are even more entwined than we suspected is quite fascinating,” Madame Vastra said. She picked up her cup and took a sip of her tea. “I suppose we should go back to what we were discussing before we were interrupted.”

“Yes, it would be a good idea,” the Doctor said. “Sherlock, were you listening to it?”

Sherlock nodded. “I was. You have traced this snow to a Dr. Walter Simeon, who runs an institute of some sort.”

“A very secretive institute,” Madame Vastra said. “There have been rumors that those who work for him have disappeared. As though they were here one minute and gone the next. Jenny and I have not been able to get close enough to find out what is happening there, and we fear that sending Strax in would be…problematic.”

“He likes brute force more than duplicity, and he lacks finesse,” Sherlock said.

“Precisely,” she replied with an inclination of her head. “The Doctor could get in easily, with his sonic screwdriver, but you could get in just as well. You have the intellect of a man of science, and you bear the manners of an aristocrat. They would take you in if you can prove yourself.”

“Having knowledge of twenty-first century science procedures should do the trick,” the Doctor said. “But then we run the risk of him polluting the time stream with knowledge that shouldn’t be here.”

“That is a valid argument against that course of action,” Madame Vastra conceded.

“I would like to see one of the snowmen, if that is possible. To study it on my own,” Sherlock said. “Do you have scientific equipment here?”

“I have some, but it is probably antiquated by your standards,” Madame Vastra said. “I do not have access to the technological greatness of my fellow Silurians here.”

“Oh?” the Doctor asked, surprised.

“They do not accept the fact that I took a human as my mate,” she said sadly. “I have been outcast from those that came to this time and place since you last saw me.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

“It is of no importance. I have Jenny, and I am content.” Madame Vastra smiled over to her wife, who grasped the hand on her thigh and squeezed it as she smiled back. Then she turned to Sherlock. “What type of equipment did you need?”

“Things that are too advanced for this era,” he said.

“I might have a room for you on the TARDIS,” the Doctor said thoughtfully. “The layout is the only thing that changed, remember? The rooms remained the same. I can always ask the old girl if she can show me where that room you and River used to disappear to went.”

“You think it is still there?” Sherlock asked.

“Perhaps. That has all the equipment you need, right?”

“It should,” he said. “Then let us go see a snowman.”

“Who should go to see Dr. Simeon?” Jenny asked. “We still need to see what he’s up to. It’s not good, whatever it is.”

“We can pay him a visit, my dear,” Madame Vastra said. “Leave Sherlock and the Doctor to examining the snowman. I would recommend starting at the tavern where we took the picture. You may even be able to find the young woman who intrigues you there. I believe she is a barmaid at the establishment.”

“Did you get her name?” the Doctor asked.

“I think someone called her Clara,” Jenny said.

The Doctor turned to Sherlock. “Then I will go and investigate her while you go investigate the snowman, if it's still there.”

“I have no reason to suspect it wouldn’t be,” Sherlock said. “If there is snow that remembers, then it might have a reason for landing where it lands and taking the shape it does.”

“Very well. We’ll go there shortly. After I move the TARDIS first. I don't know if you'll approve of where it's at, Vastra.”

“You did not place it in the clouds already?” Madame Vastra asked with a frown.

“You can park the TARDIS in the clouds?” Sherlock asked, surprised.

“I can. It’s just…tricky. But that is the best place for it, I suppose. Any place is better than your backyard.”

“I do so hope you didn’t land it in the greenhouse like the last time,” Madame Vastra said. The Doctor looked sheepish. “Oh, Doctor,” she replied with a slight groan, hanging her head. “The plants.”

“I only broke one table. I’ll get you better plants, I promise. Your garden will look spectacular come spring.” The Doctor grinned at her. “And I always keep my promises.”

“Yes, you do,” she said with a slight smile. “Very well, Doctor. Let us get going. Jenny and I will pay Dr. Simeon a visit while you go and move your home. Strax can drive you to the tavern.”

“Going to the park again?” Strax asked.

The Doctor nodded. “That’s the best place.” He stood then, and Sherlock followed suit. “I’ll get it out of your greenhouse right now.”

“Please be careful,” she said as the Doctor and Sherlock made their way back to the door leading outside.

“We will!” the Doctor called back before they exited her home. He looked over at Sherlock. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Sherlock shook his head. “No, I'm not.”

“It’s a long way up.” They remained quiet until they got to the greenhouse, and then they walked up to the TARDIS. “Oh, I do hope she’s not too cross. I don’t think I killed _all_ the plants.”

“You did considerable damage to the ones on this table, however,” Sherlock pointed out.

“Hopefully she won’t be too cross. I’ll get her exotic plants that will flourish in here as an apology. Stuff she’s never dreamed of.” He snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors opened. The two of them stepped inside and the Doctor went to the control, dancing around them as he pushed buttons, pulled levers and did other things to the console. After a moment he stopped. “All right. Just a word of warning. The solid part of the cloud only goes out in about a five meter radius. So stick close to the TARDIS, all right? Don’t want you falling off.”

“If I might ask, how are we going to get down?” Sherlock asked at the Doctor went back to the doors.

He froze, then went back to the console. “Right. It would help if I lowered the stairs, wouldn’t it?” He grinned at Sherlock and then went back to the doors. “We’re quite a ways up, so it will take some time to get to a point where we can jump and not kill ourselves on the landing.”

“How am I able to breathe up here?” he asked.

“It’s not as though we’re in space, or in the death zone, and besides, I have the atmosphere from the TARDIS shooting downwards as well as upwards in case I took us a smidge too high. You’ll be fine, Sherlock.” His grin got wider as he stepped outside, and Sherlock followed a moment later. He looked around him in wonder. He had seen space from the confines of the TARDIS, but seeing clouds up close was another matter. But he saw the Doctor had started down a flight of stairs and he followed. Being on top of a cloud was one thing; traveling through one was another. There was no moisture there, as he had supposed there would be, and he did not feel a chill air that he had thought he would considering it was nearly Christmas Day and London could get quite cold at that time of year.

Christmas. In his own time Christmas was also just a day away, and here he was gallivanting off with the Doctor. He knew his son-in-law could bring him back to nearly the exact day and hour they had left, but the thought that it would be Melody’s second Christmas and he might still be fighting with Amelia pained him. He didn’t like fighting with his wife. A small argument here and there was one thing, but an argument that lead to a separation was quite another. And he knew if the Doctor dropped him off right when he’d left Amelia might still be angry. “Doctor,” he said as they continued to make their way down the circular flight of stairs.

“Yes?” the Doctor asked, pausing.

“When you take me back home, could you do so a few hours later? I want to give Amelia a chance to cool off.”

“I can do that,” he replied with a nod. “What got you thinking about that, anyway?”

“Just that it hit me that it's almost Christmas,” he said. “And I do not want to be fighting with her on Christmas, and if I return home as though no time has passed she will still be angry with me.”

“I’ll make sure you get back after she’s cooled down. I don’t like it when the two of you fight. It always makes me sad.”

“I don’t like it when we fight either,” he said. “I always worry that time can be rewritten, that things will be drastically different and nothing I hold dear will be the same.”

“Just remember that River has twenty years of happy memories,” the Doctor said as he began descending the stairs again. “Keep that thought close to your heart.”

“Very well.” And with that, they descended the rest of the way in silence, leaving Sherlock to his whirring thoughts. He did not like them, and he hoped that soon he and Amelia would make amends and all would be well.


	3. Chapter 3

When they arrived at the tavern nearly forty minutes later, Sherlock saw in a moment where the photograph had been taken. The snowman was still in exactly the same spot. “Do you have the vials?” Sherlock asked the Doctor. Strax had brought two with him when he met them at the park, for which Sherlock was grateful because neither he nor the Doctor had thought to bring their own.

The Doctor nodded and handed him the vials with the cork stoppers. Sherlock moved closer to the snowman, opening the vial as he went, then squatted down and took a sample from the middle of the snowman. Then he corked it and opened the other vial.

“Oi! What are you doing!” a woman’s voice asked.

“It’s the same voice!” the Doctor hissed. “She has the same voice!”

“Distract her,” Sherlock murmured, moving away from the snowman to collect another sample of what he hoped could be a comparison of regular snow. He was not too hopeful about it, but it didn’t hurt.

The Doctor popped up and looked at the snowman. “Did you do this?” he asked Clara, a frown on his face.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing, mate,” she asked, crossing her arms and walking around it. “It looks rather…menacing.” Sherlock stood at that moment. “Oh, there’s two of you?”

Sherlock nodded. “Just conducting an experiment,” he said, putting the cork on the second vial. He had marked each one with a permanent marker while the woman was otherwise occupied, and he slipped each vial in his coat pocket. “How long has this snowman been here?”

“Three days. I thought it might melt because it was slightly warmer today but it hasn’t turned to water or ice yet.” She frowned. “What kind of experiments are you planning on running?”

“I’m curious as to why it didn’t melt,” Sherlock said with a shrug. “If you’ll excuse us, we can be off now. Good night, ma’am.”

“Yes, good night Cl—” The Doctor stopped himself, his eyes wide. “Good night, clever young woman.”

Clara gave him a strange look. “The sooner these snowmen are gone, the better. If you can figure out a way to melt it, come back here and get rid of this one first.”

Sherlock nodded, tipping his hat towards her. “This will be first on my list.” Then he turned to the Doctor. “We must be off.”

“Right, right.” The Doctor gave Clara a grin and tipped his hat towards her, and with that he and Sherlock hurried off. “Damn. I almost called her by her name.”

“That would have been a very big mistake,” Sherlock said. “You should have asked her for her name.”

“Well, you told me to distract her, so I…distracted,” the Doctor said with a slight shrug. “Why did you need her distracted, anyway?”

“I wanted to mark which sample was from the snowman and which was the control sample,” he said. “Or at least I hope I can use it as a control sample. I took it from the patch of snow near the snowman that hadn’t been trampled upon that was not a part of the snowman.”

“You think it’s two different types of snow,” the Doctor said.

Sherlock nodded. “Yes. At least I hope it is. If London is blanketed in snow that has memories, and it's as malevolent as Jenny seems to believe, then we may have an extensive problem on our hands.” They arrived at the brougham carriage and Sherlock opened the door. “Back to the park, Strax.”

“I am not your errand boy, boy,” Strax said sullenly.

“Yes, but you are our driver,” the Doctor pointed out as he got inside. Sherlock followed and they settled in as Strax drove off. “I want to observe Clara more, but not now. Not while we have her suspicions aroused.”

“I don’t think she’s suspicious,” Sherlock said, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together as he set his elbows on his thighs. “She has no idea who either of us are, Doctor.”

“Doctor?” Both men in the carriage started as Clara’s voice was heard above them. They looked up and saw Clara’s face in the hatch of the carriage. “Doctor who? Who are you two?”

“You were saying, Sherlock?” the Doctor said with a sigh, looking pointedly at Sherlock.

Sherlock rapped his knuckles on the side near Strax. “Stop the carriage, Strax. We have a stowaway.”

“What exactly are the two of you up to?” Clara asked as the carriage came to a sudden stop. “I want answers. I demand answers.”

“Strax, get her off the roof of the carriage,” the Doctor called over.

“Doctor, I am not your errand boy either,” Strax called over from outside the carriage. There was the sounds of a scuffle for a few moments, and then nothing. After that the door to the carriage opened, and Clara was standing next to Strax, wide-eyed. There was a strip of cloth bound around her mouth and her hands were tied behind her back. “What do you want me to do with this stowaway? Should we take her back to the lizard and the boy?”

The Doctor looked at the two of them, then put his hand over his face and ran it down. “That is not the proper way to treat a lady, Strax,” he said with a sigh.

“It is no less than I would do to an enemy combatant,” Strax said. “What do you want me to do with the boy?”

“She’s a female, Strax. Get the young _lady_ in here,” Sherlock said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Strax handed her up into the carriage, though she tried to fight slightly. Finally between Strax, Sherlock and the Doctor they got her in and situated next to the Doctor. “I’m thinking it might be best if we don’t remove the gag quite yet,” he said.

“I think you’re right, Sherlock.” The Doctor looked at her. “Curiosity is not a bad thing, but next time, please don’t put yourself in danger, Clara.”

Clara made a frantic noise from behind the gag, staring at the Doctor with wide eyes. But not eyes wide with fear, Sherlock noted after a moment. Surprise, yes, but not fear. That made him reconsider things. “If we take the gag off, will you scream for help, or otherwise make us regret it?” he asked her. She shook her head fervently. “Remove the gag, Doctor.”

The Doctor looked at him for a full minute, then reached around to the back of her head and undid the gag. Clara opened her mouth once and then closed it, keeping it closed for about a minute. Then she opened it again. “Exactly who _are_ you?” she asked.

“I am the Doctor, as you may have heard. This is Sherlock Holmes.” Sherlock nodded towards her and she nodded back just ever so slightly. “We are here to study the snow.”

“But why? It’s simply snow, right?” The Doctor and Sherlock were silent. “ _Right_?” she asked again, this time more insistently.

“Are you sure she should know this?” Strax called over from outside the carriage. “I have the worm, if you need it.”

“What worm?” Sherlock asked, slightly confused.

“That’s not a bad idea,” the Doctor said. “After we get the answers from her we’ll make her forget.”

“You have a worm that can make people forget?” Sherlock asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, a memory worm. It only affects short term memory. She’ll remember everything else about this evening except our conversation.”

“That’s abominable!” Clara said.

“Well, it’s better than you knowing that I’m a time traveling alien and Sherlock is a detective from the twenty-first century,” the Doctor said.

Sherlock shook his head. “She didn’t know that before, Doctor. You didn’t have to say anything about our backgrounds.”

The Doctor opened his mouth to make a point, but then closed it again. “Yes, yes, you’re right.”

“I gathered you were strange when your driver got me,” Clara said. “He’s not human, is he?”

“He’s a Sontaran. Middle child of six million children.”

“Do not talk about me with the boy, Doctor,” Strax said.

“She’s a girl,” the Doctor said. Clara glared at him. “A woman. A bright, overly inquisitive woman,” he corrected. “Can you get the memory worm now, Strax?”

“I am not an errand boy,” he said in a huff.

“You suggested it,” Sherlock pointed out, this time not resisting the temptation to roll his eyes.

“Very well. I will get the worm.” Strax went back to the seat of the carriage.

“In the meantime, you can tell us about the snowman outside your tavern,” the Doctor said. “When was in made?”

“Three days ago,” she replied. “Most of the customers didn’t take notice, but I did. It’s been there for three days without melting a drop.” She paused. “The snow around it had been melting, though. Are there two different types of snow?”

“That’s what we’re thinking,” Sherlock said with a slow nod. “There is a possibility that the snow remembers.”

“Remembers what?” Clara asked.

“We are not sure. We need to run some tests.” The Doctor paused. “Strax, do you have the worm?”

“The memory worm?” Strax called out from the seat of the carriage. “What about the memory worm?”

The Doctor’s eyes got wide. “Did you put on the gauntlets?”

“Why would I need gauntlets? Did you want me to pick up the memory worm?”

“I don’t believe this,” the Doctor murmured. “Yes,” he said, raising his voice. “I wanted the memory worm.”

“It’s not here.”

“You didn’t put on the gauntlets _and_ you let it escape?” the Doctor asked incredulously. “Strax…”

“That’s what you get for trying to make me forget,” Clara said, a bit of a smug look on her face.

“I need to find that worm,” the Doctor said, moving towards the door of the carriage. “Strax, hand me the gauntlets. Sherlock, keep an eye on her.”

“All right,” Sherlock said with a nod. The Doctor got out of the carriage and Sherlock took a moment to really study Clara. “You seem to be taking all of this rather well.”

“Well, if you must know, I always believed in things that weren’t always easily explained. The stuff of penny dreadfuls.” She looked at Sherlock intently. “Are you really from the future?”

He nodded. “I am. The year 2012, to be precise. I'm only here to help a friend with a case regarding the snow,” he said.

“Which friend?” she asked.

“Madame Vastra,” he replied. “I believe she's better known as the veiled detective?”

“A female detective? Oh, I would love to meet her,” she said with a slight smile.

“That doesn’t make you uncomfortable?” he asked, slightly surprised.

“Actually, I’m quite fascinated,” she said. “Is it different from where you're from? Or when, I suppose?”

“Very different than here,” he said. “I think it would take far too long to start cataloguing the differences that a little over a hundred years have wrought.”

“I would love to travel to the future. It’s only the stuff of stories here. I had always hoped it was possible.”

He looked at her for a moment. “I think you would adapt well enough.”

“A-ha! Got it!” the Doctor said from outside the carriage.

“I don’t want to forget, Mr. Holmes,” Clara said, moving closer to him. “Please, don’t make me forget.”

“Doctor?” Sherlock said, moving towards the door. He poked his head out and saw the Doctor holding a very fat worm. “She’s taking this quite well. Better than I would have expected. What would be the harm in letting her remember?”

“The harm would be…well, it would be…” He looked at the worm, then at Sherlock and Clara, who had come to join him. “It would be bad.”

“But she appears to be taking it well. And you’ve met people from other eras, correct? And not made them forget?”

The Doctor looked back and forth between Sherlock and Clara, who had a hopeful expression on her face. Then he sighed. “Very well. Let me put the worm back.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Clara said with a wide smile.

The Doctor went to the seat of the carriage for a moment, then came back to the door, no longer carrying the worm or wearing the gauntlets. He offered his hand to Clara. “Perhaps we can talk.”

“Do you want me to simply wait here?” Sherlock asked as the Doctor helped Clara out of the carriage.

“No, you can come with us,” the Doctor said. Sherlock climbed out after her. “Strax, wait here for us. We’re going to escort Clara back to her place of business.”

“Very well,” Strax said with a sigh. “I will wait here until you return.”

“Thank you, Strax.” The Doctor offered Clara his arm, and she took it. They walked slightly ahead of Sherlock, having a quiet conversation. Sherlock was not paying attention to them, and that was what caused him to notice the two objects ahead of them. “Doctor,” he said.

“Yes?” he asked, stopping. Clara took a step ahead and then stopped when she realized the Doctor wasn’t moving.

“There are more than one snowman now. And they appear to be getting closer.”

The Doctor frowned. “This is not good. Not good in the slightest.” Suddenly two more appeared. “How did that happen?”

“I don’t know,” Sherlock said. “There is no snow falling right now.”

“I thought it might be worse if there were four,” Clara said quietly.

“Do you think they are psychically linked?” Sherlock asked.

“It’s a possibility.” The Doctor turned Clara away from the snowmen, which were advancing quickly. “If your thoughts can summon them than you might be able to banish them. Think of them melting, Clara. Close your eyes and picture them becoming water.”

Clara nodded and closed her eyes, scrunching her face up slightly. The Doctor put a hand on each side of her face, and she grabbed his wrists with her hands. As Sherlock watched, the snowmen began to melt. “It’s working, Doctor,” he said.

“That’s my girl,” the Doctor said with a smile, leaning forward and kissing Clara’s forehead. Soon he turned and looked at the four puddles that were outside the Rose & Crown, and he let go of her head. “Now, Clara. Do not think of them again. Sherlock and I will figure this out. We will keep you safe, I promise. Will you be here tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I have to go back to my post tomorrow.”

“Post?” Sherlock asked.

“I’m a governess. I only help out here when I’m needed.” Her eyes widened. “Captain Latimer can’t find out about this. I’ll lose my post if he does.”

“We will be discreet,” Sherlock said. “Where can we find you tomorrow?”

“Darkover House,” she said. “Thank you, Doctor. Sherlock.” She picked up her skirts and moved over to the puddles, stepping around them, and then dashing back into the tavern.

The Doctor and Sherlock watched a moment, then the Doctor turned to Sherlock. “This is an unnecessary complication,” he murmured.

“Well, it just gives us further reason to go back to the TARDIS so I can look at these samples,” Sherlock said, reaching into his pocket and holding up one of the vials. “Snow that can be psychically controlled is dangerous.”

“Yes. I’ll let you into the TARDIS, but then I need to make a quick trip. I want to find out what Madame Vastra and Jenny found out from Doctor Simeon, and then I want to pay him a visit myself.”

“Be careful,” Sherlock said. “I do not want to have to explain to my daughter why her husband is maimed or dead.”

The Doctor grinned and clapped Sherlock on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s get back to Strax and get you on the TARDIS. That’s where you can do the most help.” And with that the two men began to walk back to the carriage, Sherlock absently fingering the two vials in his pocket. This was an intriguing mystery. He just hoped he could solve it.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor found the room fairly quickly for him, and Sherlock began to work on analyzing the snow. He worked on it for hours, finding massive differences between each sample with each test he ran. He had no clue what time it was when he heard a knock at the door of the room. “Come in,” he said, not looking up from his experiment.

“You look like a man hard at work,” the Doctor said in a slightly amused tone of voice.

“That’s because I am,” Sherlock said.

“It’s Christmas Eve now,” he said, coming into the room more. “Nearly six in the morning. You’ve been working for nine hours.”

“I ran out of the control sample and had to get more. Getting back up was a pain in the arse.”

“Ran out?” the doctor asked, moving next to him.

“It melted,” Sherlock replied. Then he held up the other vial, marked “Snowman.” “But this sample hasn’t.”

“That’s interesting,” the Doctor said, picking up the vial and studying it. “Is that the only difference between them?”

“No. But I did some exploring before I came back up. I went looking for another snowman. And there were none to be found.”

The Doctor frowned. “Now that you mention it, I saw them when I went to see Doctor Simeon, but I didn’t see any when I came back.” He looked at the vial more closely. “I wonder why the snowmen melted but this sample didn’t.”

“Perhaps because we are above the clouds?” Sherlock said with a slight shrug.

“Perhaps.” He set the sample back down. “I learned nothing from him, just as Vastra and Jenny hadn’t learned anything the day we got here.”

“I can always try and infiltrate his institute.”

“No, whatever plan he has in mind will be done soon. We just need to figure it out.”

Sherlock thought for a moment. “I need to go back down.”

“Why?”

“I want a sample from one of the melted snowmen. If this snow does what I think it will do, there will be puddles of water that haven’t frozen over.” He pulled his attention away from his experiment and moved towards the door.

“Sherlock?” the Doctor asked as Sherlock went into the hall.

“Yes?” he asked, pausing.

“Your shirtsleeves are rolled up and your coat is still in the room.”

“And?” Sherlock asked, mildly annoyed.

“And you’ll get cold if you go outside like that,” the Doctor replied with an amused grin on his face.

Sherlock came back inside the room. “I see your point.” He began pushing down his left shirtsleeve. “Amelia does much the same thing, when I get overly involved in a case or an experiment.”

“She takes good care of you, doesn’t she?”

He nodded in response. “Yes, she does. I fear there are times I do not take good care of her, however. I do not make sure she has everything she needs or wants. There are times I think I am being incredibly selfish and I take everything she offers and give her nothing in return.”

“I feel the same way about River,” he replied quietly. Then he sighed. “I know she wants to go on that trip. But she doesn’t want to be spoiled about anything regarding her own life, or at least the bits I know that she doesn’t, and I don’t know how to tell her it’s the last time I will ever see her.”

“By now I’m sure Amelia has told her of my objections, and probably a vague reason as to why.” He finished rolling down that sleeve and went for the other one. “So your problem might be a moot point by the time we return. Mine still looms large, however. No matter what I do or say, the barest fact is that Amelia doesn’t trust me.”

“And you don’t know how to fix that?” the Doctor asked.

“No, I don't.” Sherlock finished fussing with that sleeve and moved to the table to get his cufflinks. “What would you do?”

“I lie to people all the time,” he said with a frown. “I don’t usually lie to the people I love, but even when I do there’s a reason.”

“I didn’t have a very good reason.”

“I imagine for someone who has dealt with addiction before that any addiction would be hard to shake,” he replied. “Even one to cigarettes. It’s no small matter to smoke as much as I imagine you did, even if you were trying to hide it.”

“I think she knew, towards the end. She knew and she waited for me to admit it. And that makes it worse.” He fastened one cufflink and then began to work on the other. “I just don’t want her throwing this in my face any time we have an argument. I quit and I’m making every concerted effort not to lie to her again.”

“She’ll let it go some day,” the Doctor replied. “She won’t hold onto the hurt forever.”

“What if she doesn’t?” he asked, stopping what he was doing and looking at his son-in-law.

“Twenty years of good memories. Remember, that’s what River has. It’s not twenty years of fighting and bitterness. Give it time. Swallow down objections if she does bring it up again. Prove yourself to her.” He clasped Sherlock on the shoulder. “It will be all right. You two will get past it.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” He went back to working on the other cufflink. “Were there any locations for the snowmen that are closer than the Rose & Crown?”

“That was the closest,” the Doctor replied. “I can go get the sample if you want. You can stay here and keep working.”

“No, I want to study it.” He finished his task and looked at the Doctor as he reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “I want to take a photograph of the area where it melted, if it did indeed melt. Hopefully there will be something for me to take a sample of.”

“If you take the camera out at the wrong moment…” the Doctor said, his tone slightly worried.

“You will be there to distract anyone from paying attention to me,” Sherlock said. “And by now I’m assuming the streets are quiet. If we wait another hour it should still be that way, hopefully.”

“Why do we need to wait an hour?”

Sherlock showed the Doctor his cell phone. “My battery is dead. I believe if our room is the same as it was before your home changed my spare charger should still be in there.”

“All right. I’ll meet you in the console room in an hour. Let me show you where the room is now.” The Doctor left the room and Sherlock paused enough to grab a fresh vial and his coat. He followed the Doctor through the corridors until the Doctor stopped in front of a door. “Do you think you can find your way back to the console room?”

“I’ll manage,” he said. He let himself into the room and shut the door behind him. Everything looked exactly the same, so he went to the vanity and opened the top drawer. His charger was there, and he plugged it in, then plugged his phone in and set his alarm for an hour from then. Once that was done he looked around the room. It did look exactly the same, but right now all that did was remind him of better times. With a sigh he sat down in the rocking chair. He didn’t want to think these thoughts. And yet here they were, fighting for dominance with his thoughts and theories on the case. After a moment he went back to his phone and turned off the alarm. He needed to retreat to his mind palace now, and if that meant more than an hour passed then that was fine. He needed to think about the snow, and he needed to do it now, before they went to see Clara at Darkover House, because he feared by then it might be too late.


	5. Chapter 5

He had fallen asleep in the rocking chair. His body was sore from falling asleep in an unnatural position, he realized as he stood. There was stiffness in his joints and pain in his neck. He started rubbing the back of his neck as he moved, trying to work out some of the pain. Finally he felt more like himself, so he went to his phone and saw it was nearly two in the afternoon. He had slept for eight hours, though he felt no more refreshed than he had been when he fell asleep. He reasoned it was probably due to the unnatural sleeping position and the fact he was sleeping alone. Neither of those things made sleep very pleasant, he had realized long ago.

He headed back towards the room where he had been working on the experiments. He supposed he should eat, but he wanted to check on the experiment he had left running the night before. He wasn't surprised to see the Doctor standing there, looking into the microscope. “There's food on the table,” he said, not looking up.

Sherlock looked to the side and looked at the food. “Your wife says your food isn't edible,” he said, going over to it. Whatever was under the covered dish smelled delectable.

“Jenny brought it over,” he said, turning to look at Sherlock. “It might be cold, but it will be edible.”

“And there's coffee,” he said, going over to the table. He picked up the thermos cup and took a sip. “Still hot.”

“I can make coffee,” he said with an amused grin. “That's the only thing I can make that River will touch. I didn't know how you wanted it so it's black.”

“You lived with me for three months and you don't know how I take my coffee?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought it was black. Was I wrong?”

Sherlock shook his head. “Two sugars. Occasionally I will drink it black, but only if that's all that's offered. Since most people offer tea it doesn't happen often.” He brought the cup over to him. “What were you looking at?”

“The sample from the melted snowman. I got it last night when I looked in on you and saw you were asleep.”

“Did you compare it with the sample that didn't melt?” Sherlock asked as the Doctor moved out of the way.

“Tiny faces in both samples,” the Doctor said with a nod, though Sherlock didn't see him as he'd gone to look at the sample. “I'm fairly sure if you ran every test on the melted sample that you did on the other snowman sample you'd get the same results.”

“As am I,” Sherlock said. He straightened up and looked at the Doctor. “We should go tell Vastra and Jenny now.”

“Eat now,” the Doctor replied. “Your wife may be angry at you right now but she'll skin me alive if I don't make you eat.”

“Very well, though I _can_ go without food for now,” Sherlock replied with a sigh. He went over to the plate and looked at it. The aroma coming from the food made his stomach growl quietly. He turned and saw the Doctor had an amused grin on his face and he scowled slightly. He pulled over the second stool near the table and sat down. “All right. Perhaps I was mistaken.”

“I almost wish that Jenny had brought some for me,” the Doctor said as he came over to Sherlock, who began to eat. “I know it's not the same as modern fare but it's got to taste good. Home-cooked meal and all of that.”

“Don't tell Amelia, but this is almost as good as her food,” Sherlock said as he swallowed. “And we both know Amelia is an excellent cook.”

“She certainly is,” the Doctor replied with a grin. “You know, if she hadn't decided to go the route she did in life she could have opened a very successful restaurant, I think.”

“Most likely.” Sherlock ate some more of his food. “She said she cooked for you the first night she met you.”

“She made loads of things. I ended up eating fish fingers and custard.” Sherlock looked up at him in surprise, and he shrugged in response. “It's quite good. Maybe one day I'll get all of you to try it.”

“That will most likely never happen,” he replied.

“River likes it,” the Doctor said.

“And I bet you get Melody to enjoy it at an early age,” Sherlock said, shaking his head.

“I'm not sure. She won't tell me much about her childhood,” he said with a frown. “She just tells me she was happy as a child. Well, happy with the two of you and her brother. I don't gather school was all that pleasant.”

Sherlock ate some more of his food. “School wasn't very pleasant for me, either. Once I got out I didn't go back.”

“So you've never been to university?” the Doctor asked, surprised.

“No,” he said. “I didn't see much point. I was lucky enough that I had a few teachers try and take an interest in me when I was younger, teach me the things I had an interest in aside from the book learning I did. But as a whole school was boring and I didn't learn much there. The one thing Mycroft did do which I was grateful for was to arrange for tutors in the subjects at which I excelled.”

“Like the sciences?”

“Yes,” Sherlock replied. “I'm also fluent in five languages, one of which is Latin.”

“I never realized that,” the Doctor said, looking impressed.

“I'm teaching myself Mandarin Chinese right now,” he replied as he ate some more. “There was a case I had that involved Chinese assassins and that piqued my interest in the culture and the language. I'll try other dialects later, I think, if I do not move onto Korean first.”

“What languages are you fluent in?” the Doctor asked.

“Aside from English and Latin, I also know French, Italian, Japanese and Greek. My accent might be a bit off, but I can understand, speak and write all of those languages well enough to be understood by natives.”

“Is that why you wanted to learn my language?”

Sherlock nodded before he ate some more. “I would love to be able to write and read it, even if I will never be able to speak it.”

“I can start teaching you when all of this is over,” the Doctor said with a smile. “River knows a lot of it, so she can help teach you.”

“If she doesn't disappear before much longer,” Sherlock replied quietly.

“I don't want to take her. I don't want to lose her,” the Doctor said passionately. “If I lose her, I don't know what I would do. We haven't been married for long. Not nearly long enough. I know she wants to go but she won't let me tell her why I don't want to take her there. I take her there and then our time is over.” He looked quite dejected at the end of it all.

Sherlock lowered his fork. “Eventually you'll have to take her. One day you'll have to make that trip.”

“I know,” the Doctor said glumly. “But I want to put that day off as long as possible. I mean, don't you want me to do the same? The longer I wait, the more time she has with the two of you.”

“That is true,” Sherlock conceded. Then he paused. What he was about to say pained him very much. “Perhaps, though, it might be what needs to happen. You told me that when she sees you in the library she knows all about you but you know nothing about her. Have you asked her how many memories she has with you?”

“No,” he said quietly. “She'll just spout 'spoilers' and that will be the end of it. And she doesn't want to know about her own death. I asked her once, and she said she can't bear to know, that all she knows is I won't know her then.” He was quiet for a moment. “The idea that we're moving in opposite directions isn't quite true. I mean, yes, there is the way she dies. But everything else is one big wall of timey wimey stuff. There is still so much more we can do before she goes to the Library. ”

“What happened in the other dimension, the first time you met?” Sherlock asked as he went back to his food.

“She tried to kill me with a poisoned kiss,” he said with a slight smile. “Then she saved me by giving me all her regenerations. That was how I knew to look for the Tesselecta when I wanted to fake my death. It was involved in the events of that day. I knew I could pull off the same trick here if it existed here.”

“You were very lucky, you know.”

“How so?”

“You thoroughly convinced me you were dead,” Sherlock said with a bit of a grin before he went back to his food. “If I had thought there was any chance you were still alive I would have gone after you the way a hungry dog goes after a bone.”

“Well, that would have been problematic, but it also could have helped Melody,” he said with a frown. “If we had rescued Amelia before she gave birth you would have Melody for many years to come.”

“Perhaps. We'll never know now, will we?”

“No, we won't.” The Doctor sighed. “It really doesn't do to dwell on all of this.”

“I believe we had this conversation already, or one very similar,” Sherlock said. “Actually, several conversations like this.”

“It was nice living with both of you,” the Doctor said with a grin. “I got to know you both really well. I think we're closer friends because of it.”

“I think we are as well,” Sherlock said with a nod. “I think I understand you more now.”

“And I understand you as well. I could always sort of see what Amy saw in you, but spending that much time with you convinced me more than ever just what a good man you are.”

“I can be a not so good man at times,” he replied with a frown. “I can be arrogant and ruthless and dangerous.”

“But only with good reason. I think now, at least, I understand why you did what you did to Moriarty. I didn't, for a long while. But I see what you and Amy have, and I compare it to what River and I have. Maybe I wouldn't do it as violently, but if there was a big enough threat to River I would do whatever it took to make sure it was no longer a threat.”

“Then perhaps we are not that different.”

“No, I don't think we are.” The Doctor came over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Finish eating. We need to tell Vastra what we found and make some plans before we go to Darkover House.”

Sherlock nodded and went back to his food while the Doctor went back to the microscope. Chats like this with the Doctor always left him in a pensive mood, but he also realized it felt good to get the thoughts out with someone who understood. It helped keep the thoughts in his head from swarming as much, and for that reason alone he was grateful. He was not sure what he would do if there was ever a day where the Doctor left his family alone, and to be honest he hoped if that day ever came it was far off into the future. But that particular line of thought could keep for now. Right now there was a lot more on the horizon for them, and he had the sinking suspicion it was about to get worse before it got better.


	6. Chapter 6

“We need to mount a tactical assault on Dr. Simeon's institute,” Strax was saying as he paced in the room where the rest of them were gathered. “Take it by force and demand he reveal his plan to us.”

“There is such a thing as subtlety,” Jenny said, rolling her eyes.

“Boy, I've handled many instances like this,” he said, stopping and looking at her. “I have the needed experience with this issue.”

“Well, I think you're wrong in this instance,” she snapped.

“Please, don't,” Sherlock said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yesterday was more than enough.”

“Sherlock has a point,” Madame Vastra said. “Arguing amongst ourselves will get us nowhere.” She turned to the Doctor, who had been staring at the doors to the greenhouse pensively. “Doctor? You've been very quiet so far.”

“I've had a thought that's been stuck in my head ever since we went to the Rose & Crown,” he said, not turning to face them. “How many people do you think walked by that snowman? Took particular notice of it?”

“Countless people, I'd think,” Madame Vastra said. “It's quite a popular establishment, and it was there even when the snow had begun to melt.”

“Then why didn't more of them form when other people thought about them? Why did that only happen for Clara?” He finally turned to look at them. “There's a connection here. There's a connection and we're all missing it.”

“Then let's go over the facts again,” Sherlock said. He stood up and began to pace. “You said there had been rumors workers were disappearing after they agreed to do a job for the institute, Madame Vastra. How long ago was that?”

“A week ago,” she replied. “Though we had heard other rumours about the institute and it's shady going-ons before that.”

“But a week ago workers began to go missing. Men that wouldn't be missed, or at least men a man of a higher social class wouldn't expect anyone to miss. Who brought it to your attention?”

“A few women who were romantically attached to some of the men,” she replied.

“And when did you confront Dr. Simeon?” he asked.

“The night you and the Doctor arrived. He was out in town, near a home. Darkover House, I believe.” Sherlock stopped pacing and looked over at the Doctor, who looked back with wide eyes. She looked at the two men. “I take it that is important,” she said.

“That, Madame Vastra, is where Clara is employed,” the Doctor said. “That's where she has her post as a governess.”

“But why on earth would he be out there?” she replied.

“Well, we know he is involved with snow that remembers,” Sherlock said slowly. “Doctor, is there any chance we could go through records to see if there was anything related to Darkover House that involved snow or the cold?”

“I don't see why not,” he said thoughtfully. “I'd need to go back to the TARDIS, though.”

“I'll go with you,” Sherlock said, moving towards him.

“No, no, it's all right. You're onto something. I'll just go get everything I can on Darkover House and then come back. You keep formulating ideas on why he's fixated on that place,” he replied, picking up his hat. “Strax, back to the park.”

“Very well,” Strax said with a nod. The Doctor made his way to the door and Strax followed, and after a moment they were gone.

Sherlock sat back down in his chair after a moment. “There have definitely been times I have missed modern conveniences,” he said.

Madame Vastra nodded. “I miss them too. The Silurians are far more technically advanced than humans, even humans from your era. It was hard to adjust without them at first, but I have found a simpler life is much more fulfilling.” She gave a fond smile to Jenny, who smiled back. “There are a few comforts here that are not in a typical home in this era, however.”

“I've noticed,” Sherlock said. He was going to say more but suddenly there was a rapping on the door. He looked over at the two women. “Were you expecting company?”

“No,” Jenny replied as Madame Vastra shook her head. She stood up. “I'll see who they are and send them away.”

“That would be best,” Madame Vastra said with a nod. Jenny made her way to the door and then she turned to Sherlock. “There is much about this business that makes me uneasy. The idea that there is something that could blanket the world and destroy it is unacceptable, but until we know what the appeal of Darkover House is we have no clue how to stop it.”

“If anyone can find out it's him,” Sherlock said.

“Or you. You are quite the investigator yourself,” she said, giving him a small smile. “And unlike him, you do this for a living.”

“Part of the appeal is that I like challenges,” he said, steepling his fingers together in front of his face. “But there are times there is a great need to solve a case and a time limit makes it that much harder. I fear whatever Dr. Simeon has planned will transpire soon.”

“On that, you and I are in agreement.” She picked up her glass and took a sip. It was a red liquid of some sort he had gathered was not wine. He in turn picked up his cup of tea and took a sip until he heard footsteps coming closer. “I thought we were turning them away,” she replied.

“This is--” Jenny began as Sherlock turned in his seat.

“Clara,” he said quietly.

Clara looked quite different today. Her hair was pulled away from her face, and her outfit was much more proper and in a muted gray color. She looked over at Madame Vastra with only a small amount of surprise. “I'm sorry to intrude. I came to you for help. I remember Sherlock mentioned he was here to help you and I thought I could offer some assistance.”

“You have learned something important?” Madame Vastra asked, nodding for her to sit down.

Clara took the seat across from her, putting her hands on her lap. “Our housekeeper Alice said a very strange man paid a visit the evening before I returned. A Dr. Simeon. He spoke with Captain Latimer about the pond, and said something about how whatever was growing inside belonged to him. She thought that was strange.”

“Is the pond unusual in any way?” Sherlock asked.

“No, it's a rather ordinary pond, other than the fact it's frozen over, and has been for some time,” Clara replied. “But what makes it interesting is that the old governess drowned in it. No one found the body for quite some time, until it thawed.”

Sherlock's eyes widened. “There must be something about that pond that is important,” he said before standing up and looking at Madame Vastra. “Can you contact the Doctor?”

“I can,” she said with a nod.

“Tell him to meet me at Darkover House,” he said. “I think I need to pay my own visit to Dr. Simeon and his institute.”

“Be careful, Sherlock,” Madame Vastra said gravely. “He is a very dangerous man.”

“As it happens, so am I,” he replied. Then he turned to Clara. “Return to Darkover House and wait for myself or the Doctor.”

“So I'm supposed to just wait?” Clara replied, raising an eyebrow.

“For your own safety, yes,” Sherlock said with a nod. “As soon as we are able to we'll come and tell you what we know and put a stop to whatever Dr. Simeon's plans are.” He made his way to the door. “And whatever you do, don't follow me this time.”

“I will make sure she returns there safely,” Madame Vastra said with an inclination of her head. “You do what you need to do, Sherlock.”

“I will see all of you later,” he replied before heading to the front door. He made his way outside and looked around for someone to ask for information. After a moment he found someone willing to tell him what they knew about Dr. Simeon's institute, and he got into a carriage. There were a number of ways he could approach it. He could try and sneak in, he could barge in, or he could have himself announced. After some thought he decided to start with being announced and then see how that was received.

When the carriage stopped he got out and went to the doors. He knocked and waited, and then knocked again. There was still no answer. He glanced around and saw no one was paying him any particular attention. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his lock picks. It only took a moment and then he let himself in. He was unfamiliar with the layout so he stayed quiet and listened. He heard noises in one room, along with the sounds of conversation. That was where he needed to go.

He opened the door and looked into the room. There was a huge glass globe filled with swirling snow, and a man in front of it. He surmised that the man was Dr. Simeon, even though he had seen no photographs of the man. The man turned to look at him, startled. “Dr. Simeon, I assume,” Sherlock said in a bit of a drawl.

The man straightened up. “I am he,” he replied. “And who are you?”

“He is a threat,” a voice said as Sherlock made his way to the man and the globe. “He is not from this time.”

Sherlock paused a moment. “Interesting,” he murmured. “Telepathic snow that talks.”

“You do not seem to be too surprised...” Dr. Simeon said, trailing off.

“Holmes. Sherlock Holmes,” he replied. “And it would take much more than talking snow to surprise me.”

“I suppose you're associated with the Paternoster Gang,” Dr. Simeon said with a sneer. “With the veiled woman and her compatriots, and the strange man who was nosing around the institute recently.”

“I am,” Sherlock said, inclining his head slightly. “I'm curious, though. What is the point of snow that remembers?”

“Why should I tell you?” he said.

“Well, you've got an elaborate scheme. I can imagine you want to brag.” He made his way to the glass globe, moving around Dr. Simeon. “As far as I'm concerned, snow that remembers can be a powerful weapon. But the snow isn't enough. You have something else up your sleeve. Something involving the pond at Darkover House.” He tapped on the glass. “Because you aren't content with just the snow. You have much grander plans.”

“Winter is coming,” Dr. Simeon said.

“That's very cliché,” Sherlock said in a bored tone. “And very vague. I can figure out what it is the pond is useful for on my own.”

“I would like to see you try,” Dr. Simeon replied, crossing his arms.

Sherlock turned away, looking around the room and taking it all in. He then turned back to Dr. Simeon and watched where his eyes went first after being stared at for a time. They drifted to a book, and he went and picked it up, examining it. After a moment he held the spine in his hand and let it fall open. “Most read pages,” he murmured to himself.

“Pardon?” Dr. Simeon asked with a hint of attitude.

“You need the ice,” Sherlock said, snapping the book shut. Dr. Simeon jumped slightly. “The ice is the important part. You told the owner of the house that you would claim what was in the pond. Something is growing in that pond, something vital to your scheme. Because snowmen are not good at taking over the world. If enough people learn the trick to think about them melting they'll melt. But ice...ice is more dangerous. Ice is hardier. So this has to do with the dead governess who was trapped under the ice. If snow remembers, and snow and ice are made out of water, then it would be a fair assumption that the water in that pond has the ability to remember. And what it remembers is a human body trapped in a pond. You want to harvest the ice to give your snow shape.” He stepped back over to Dr. Simeon. “Now. Tell me whether I'm on the mark.”

“You are quite perceptive,” he said. He walked back over to the globe. “I admit, you figured out much more than that... _woman_ , and with only a few cursory glances. I am impressed. But it doesn't matter. What is growing in the ice will rise soon, and it will be mine, and there will be a new world order in its wake.”

“I'll let you take what's in that pond over my dead body,” Sherlock replied.

“That can be arranged,” Dr. Simeon murmured.

“But you won't arrange it. You know that unlike those workers, I have powerful friends. If _I_ go missing they'll bring you down.” He turned around and began to walk away. “If you know what's best for you, you'll forget your plan. I've brought down far worse men than you before, and I won't hesitate to do it again.”

“Is that a threat?” Dr. Simeon called over as Sherlock got to the door.

“No. It's a promise.” Sherlock opened the door. “Forget your plans, Dr. Simeon, in the interest of self-preservation, if nothing else.”

“I'll do no such thing,” he replied.

Sherlock paused, then turned to look at him. “Then I suppose we'll find out shortly which of us will see what the dawn will bring.” He inclined his head. “Good day.” And with that he turned around and left. Now that he had a more concrete idea of what they were up against he needed to tell the others. It was absolutely vital they keep whatever it was that was growing in that pond out of Dr. Simeon's hands or the world as they all knew it would end.


	7. Chapter 7

It took some time before Sherlock returned to Madame Vastra's and the Doctor and Strax joined them again. The Doctor was a bit put out that Sherlock had figured it all out on his own and that he'd confronted Simeon on his own, but once he heard what the man needed from that pond he agreed it was for the best things had happened the way they did. It was agreed at that point that all five of them would go to Darkover House and wait and see what was going to happen. By the time they arrived at Darkover House it was dark. Strax parked the carriage out of sight and they all entered through the gates to the house. Vastra and Jenny lingered towards the gate while Strax checked on the perimeter. Sherlock and the Doctor headed towards the pond. Sherlock squatted down next to the pond and tapped on the ice. “It's thick, but it's cracking,” he said.

“Whatever is in that pond is going to make its grand entrance tonight,” the Doctor said. “The others can keep Simeon out. We need to get inside the house.”

“Well, I sincerely doubt this is an occasion where we can simply go up to the door and knock,” Sherlock said, looking up at the house. He looked at the light in the windows and after a moment saw a curtain move. “Although...”

The Doctor looked up just in time to see Clara wave. He waved back, and she motioned for him to come towards the house more. “I think we have our invitation inside,” the Doctor said after the curtain closed. He turned back to Sherlock and gave him a grin. “Shall we?”

They stepped towards the house and knocked on the door. After a moment the door opened slowly and a woman in a housekeeper's uniform stood in the opening. “Yes?” she asked.

“You must be Alice,” the Doctor said with a wide grin.

“Yes,” she said warily.

“We're here to see Clara,” he replied.

Alice looked them up and down, eyeing them both. The Doctor looked uncomfortable when she did it to him, but Sherlock looked back defiantly and she looked nervous. “She's busy at the moment. You'll need to return tomorrow.”

She began to shut the door but there was a sound of loud cracking and Sherlock put his hand out to stop the door from closing. “No, I'm afraid this can't wait.” There was a bit of a struggle over the door at that point, but in the end Sherlock was the winner. He stepped inside and then turned to the Doctor. “Doctor?” he asked.

“It's a woman made of ice,” he said, not moving from the spot where he'd turned to look at the pool.

Sherlock looked behind him and saw the ice woman was heading towards them. “Yes, and she looks quite angry, which is all the more reason to come inside and keep her from doing the same.”

“Right!” he replied, snapping out of his surprised state. He stepped into the home and then slammed the door shut, pointing his sonic screwdriver at it and then looking over at Alice. “Where is Clara?”

“With the children,” she said, wearing a look of bewilderment.

“And where are they?” Sherlock asked, getting a tad annoyed.

“Upstairs,” she replied. The Doctor made his way to the stairs. “You can't go up there!”

There was an opening of a door and the sound of footsteps. Soon a man appeared in the hallway. “Alice? What's going on?”

“These men appeared to call on Clara, and then they burst inside and now they're headed for the children!” she exclaimed.

“See here, you will leave immediately,” the man said gruffly.

“You're Captain Latimer?” the Doctor asked.

“Yes,” he said with a nod.

“You and everyone in this household is in danger,” the Doctor said. “There was something in your pool, and now it's out, and it's coming for your family.”

Captain Latimer scoffed. “That's a load of bollocks.”

“Believe him or don't, but if you want to make it through the night you'll let us upstairs,” Sherlock said.

Captain Latimer stood toe to toe with him, glaring at him, but Sherlock held his gaze defiantly. “Kindly remove yourself from my--” The sound of screams cut him off and his eyes widened. “Francesca! Digby!”

“She found another way in!” the Doctor yelled, beginning to run up the stairs. “I'll take care of her.”

Captain Latimer began to follow but Sherlock got in his way. “My children!” he said.

“The Doctor will bring them to safety,” Sherlock said. Captain Latimer raised his fist to punch Sherlock in the face but Sherlock grabbed his fist in his hand and twisted Captain Latimer's arm. The other man winced in pain. “Keep calm and let him rescue them,” he said quietly.

“Let go of my arm,” Captain Latimer said.

Sherlock hesitated a moment, then let go. Captain Latimer glared at him. “Try it again and I might break it,” Sherlock replied simply.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Someone to help,” Sherlock said as the sound of multiple people running down the upstairs hall was heard. Soon the Doctor, Clara and two young children rounded the corner and began running down the stairs. The two children ran to their father, who moved them behind him and stared at the stairs. After a moment the ice governess appeared.

“Good God,” Captain Latimer said, his eyes wide as she approached the top of the stairs.

“The children are bad!” the ice governess said. “They must be punished!”

The front door swung open and Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax burst in. “The perimeter is surrounded,” Strax said. 

Alice looked at him, then Madame Vastra, and she screamed before fainting. Madame Vastra sighed before looking at the Doctor. “This might help with containment,” she said, tossing him something.

The Doctor caught it and then pressed a button before throwing it in the direction of the ice governess. Suddenly there was a force field, and every time the ice governess hit it red electricity showed. “This will keep her, for now.” Then he turned to Strax, who was looking into rooms on the ground floor. “What did you mean, the perimeter is surrounded?”

“There are snowmen all over the yard,” he replied.

“And outside the gate as well,” Jenny said.

“There's a carriage out front, Doctor, and it's controlling the snow,” Jenny said. “And Dr. Simeon is there.”

“Of course he is,” Sherlock said.

“We should all head into the study,” Strax said. “It has the best vantage point and one defensible entrance.”

The Doctor nodded. “Everyone head there.”

Captain Latimer picked Alice up and carried her in, followed by everyone except the Doctor, Sherlock and Clara. The Doctor took a few steps to follow but then stopped. “Clara?”

“We aren't safe, are we?” she asked. She had turned to look at the ice governess banging on the force field.

“No, we aren't,” the Doctor said. “But I have a plan. At least a semblance of one. Or the start of an idea on how to fix this.” There was a knock on the door. “That's unexpected.”

“No it's not,” Sherlock said, moving past the doctor towards the front door. “You know exactly who it is.”

“Simeon,” the Doctor said, following him.

Sherlock nodded and opened the door. Dr. Simeon stood there, his hands resting on the pummel of his cane. “Mr. Holmes,” he said. Sherlock inclined his head. “And you must be the other man.”

“I'm the Doctor,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“You have something that belongs to me,” he replied, glancing behind the two men.

“You're never going to get her,” the Doctor said. “I'll make sure of it.”

“Mr. Holmes said she would be taken over his dead body. I'm sure I can arrange that for all of you,” he said. “You have five minutes to deliver her to me or I will kill everyone in this household.”

“No, you won't,” Sherlock said, straightening up. “I'll personally make sure it's nowhere where you can get your hands on it.”

“Then I'll make sure I kill you first. Five minutes, Mr. Holmes.” Dr. Simeon turned at that point.

Sherlock shut the door behind him. “We need to get rid of her, either take her somewhere else or destroy her,” he said.

“I already used my sonic screwdriver to melt her and she just came back. She learned,” the Doctor said with a frown as he turned to the ice governess, who was still banging on the force field and yelling. “We can't let him get his hands on her.”

“Then we find another way to keep her from him,” he said.

“The roof!” Clara said. “You can lure her into the roof.”

“You're absolutely brilliant!” the Doctor said with a grin. “Clara, go into the study. The others will keep you safe. Sherlock, come with me.” The Doctor grabbed an umbrella from the stand and then the two men moved to the stairs and up them, and the Doctor lifted the force field for a moment by pointing his sonic screwdriver at it. Then he turned around and lowered it before pausing. “You were supposed to go into the study.”

Clara picked up her skirts. “No time for talking. We need to get past the snow governess.” She moved around the Doctor. “Right now, in fact.” The ice governess made a grab for Clara but she quickly moved aside, running up the stairs. Sherlock and the Doctor followed her, listening to the ice governess right behind them. Clara led them to a room, and Sherlock opened the window leading onto the roof. He climbed out with the Doctor right behind him. Finally Clara attempted to get out as well, and stopped halfway through. “My bustle! It's stuck!”

“Why do women have such impractical clothes?” the Doctor asked as he handed Sherlock the umbrella before reaching over to help pull Clara out. After a moment she was free, and the ice governess could be seen reaching through the window towards them. “Right then. Up we go.”

“Up we go where?” Clara asked.

“To the TARDIS.” He used the handle of the umbrella to pull down the ladder. Clara looked on approvingly. “After you,” he said.

“No, after _you_ ,” she said, crossing her arms. “I'm in a skirt.”

“Let's just get on with it,” Sherlock said with an exasperated sigh, beginning to climb up the ladder.

“Eyes front,” Clara said as the Doctor climbed up after him.

“My eyes are always up front,” he said.

“Mine aren't,” she said in reply. She stood on the bottom of the ladder and looked at the ice governess as Sherlock and the Doctor got to the top of the stairs to pull the ladder up. “I regret to inform you you've been relieved of your post,” she said to the ice governess. “And the vacancy has already been filled. Let me up, boys.” The Doctor began to get the ladder pulled up, and after a moment Clara joined them. “Well, that was exhilarating. What next?”

“Next we figure out a way of keeping her out of Simeon's hands,” the Doctor replied. “We'll have to use the TARDIS.”

“What is this TARDIS?” Clara asked as they made their way up the stairs.”

“My home. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's how I travel through time and space.”

“Fascinating,” she said.

“You should come with me. Travel. Explore it all with me,” the Doctor replied brightly.

“She can do that _after_ we take care of this problem,” Sherlock said.

“Right, right,” he replied. They continued to make their way up, and when they got to the top the Doctor snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors opened. He and Sherlock stepped inside and then made their way to the console. Clara hung by the door, stepping inside for a moment, then going back outside. After a moment she came back inside, wide eyed. “Well?” the Doctor asked with a grin.

“It's smaller on the outside,” she said.

He frowned. “That's new.” Then he began to move around the console. “We'll take care of the problem and then you can come with me, Clara. You can travel the universe, go to any era you want. The past or the future. Anything at all.” He stopped fiddling with the console and then went over to Clara, holding up a key. “I never know who to choose until it's so blindingly right. I would be honored to have you as my companion.” He pulled her hand up and placed the key in her palm, curling her fingers around it.

She gave him a smile. “All right.”

“Excellent!” he went back to the console. “Now, there's a few things we can do. Sherlock, help me?”

Sherlock nodded and moved over to the console. “What do you want me to do?”

“Flip that switch.”

Sherlock went over and flipped the switch. He looked up at that moment and his eyes widened in horror. “Clara!” he called over, but it was too late. The ice governess was behind her, grabbing her with both hands and pulling her back to the exit. The key dropped from Clara's hand as she struggled. Both men bolted to the door.

“Let her go!” the Doctor pleaded. “Please, let her go.”

“Doctor!” Clara called out as the governess got to the edge. “Help me!”

The Doctor moved forward and made a grab for her outstretched hands but it was too late. Both the ice governess and Clara went over the edge, falling. The Doctor almost followed them, but Sherlock held him back. “No...” he said, his voice quiet.

“There is always a chance she survived,” Sherlock said. “We need to get down there to see.” He let go of the Doctor but the other man didn't move. “Doctor, we need to do it _now_. There are still snowmen down there.”

“Yes. Of course,” he said, blinking. He turned and made his way towards the TARDIS doors, Sherlock right behind him, and then went to his console. He was quiet as he moved around it, and then suddenly the sound of it materializing was heard. Sherlock watched as Clara appeared on the floor of the TARDIS. Sherlock moved over to her and felt for a pulse. “She has a very faint pulse,” he said.

“We need to get her inside Darkover House,” the Doctor said grimly. “If we have any chance of saving her it's with Vastra and the others.”

Sherlock nodded and carefully picked her up. The Doctor opened the door and Sherlock saw he had parked the TARDIS in the sitting room. He carried her into the study and ignored the gasps and cries from the others in the room. He carefully laid her on the table as Strax came over with a small handheld machine, scanning her. “She's alive, but barely,” Strax said.

“Make sure you save her,” the Doctor said gruffly. Then he moved over to Clara, kneeling down a bit. He took her hand in his and then used his other hand to smooth her hair back. “Hang on, Clara. Hang on for me. When this is all over I'll whisk you away for an adventure, something you can only dream of.”

“Doctor,” Madame Vastra said. “We have a visitor. Dr. Simeon.”

The Doctor nodded, and he, Sherlock and Madame Vastra went to the door. The Doctor threw it open before he knocked. “She's in pieces,” the Doctor replied coldly.

“Pity,” he said. “I might have spared you otherwise.”

“If you have a piece you can replicate it. I have them in my TARDIS. I'll meet you at the institute and deliver it myself. Be there quickly.”

Dr. Simeon looked at him, then nodded slowly. “Very well. But if you do not comply I'll make sure everyone is dead before you return.”

The Doctor didn't respond, instead shutting the door in his face. “I need a few things. Most importantly I need the memory worm.”

“You have a plan, then?” Madame Vastra asked.

“Yes, I do,” the Doctor replied.

“Are you planning on sharing that plan?” Sherlock asked, following the Doctor back to the TARDIS with Madame Vastra beside him.

“I'm going to wipe out his memory and destroy the globe housing the snow, take care of the threat once and for all. You said you heard a disembodied voice when you paid him a visit, correct?”

Sherlock nodded. “Yes.”

“I think the snow has been around far longer than we suspect. I think it's been around and he found a way to replicate it. And I think he's the one _really_ controlling it. So if I can make him forget about the snow and I destroy the globe the problem will take care of itself.”

“I think that could work,” Madame Vastra said with a nod as they entered the TARDIS.

“Something is nagging at me,” Sherlock said.

“It will work,” the Doctor said insistently. “I need to get the worm and something to keep it in. Excuse me.” He made his way into the TARDIS and into the hallways beyond the console room, leaving Sherlock and Madame Vastra alone.

“You are the type to rely on your gut instincts, are you not?” she asked him.

“Sometimes,” he said. “Even I realize there are times logic cannot apply.”

She nodded. “Then what is your gut saying now?”

“That we're missing something important. I don't think the solution will be as easy as the Doctor expects.” He looked over at her. “When I entered the room where the globe was, the voice said I was not from this time. I'm in Victorian dress and I bear the manners of an aristocrat. There was no reason it should have said that.”

Madame Vastra was silent for a moment, studying him. “I would have no reason to suspect you were anything other than a Lord of some sort from this time,” she said quietly.

“Then how did it know?” he asked, looking at her. “If you couldn't tell, how could the snow? If Simeon was controlling it and I can blend in perfectly it shouldn't have been able to tell.”

“I think we need to be on our guard,” she said. “Follow the plan the Doctor has, but be prepared for surprises.”

Sherlock nodded. “I think that would be best.” They lapsed into silence as they waited, and finally the Doctor came carrying a metal box with a map of the London Underground on it. “I take it the work is in there?”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. Then he set it down on the console. “Do you remember what I did when we were looking for Amy, Sherlock? When I looked at your memories?”

He nodded. “I do.”

“I need to do it again. I need to know exactly which room to land the TARDIS in, and since you’ve seen the room and I haven’t I need you to guide me.”

“All right.” The Doctor came over to him and placed his fingers on either side of Sherlock’s temple. Sherlock shut his eyes and thought about exactly where he had gone to get to the room, feeling the Doctor on the edges of his thoughts. He had gotten a very good look at the room so he knew the Doctor would eventually figure out a place to land that wasn’t directly on the globe. Finally he removed his hands and Sherlock opened his eyes. “Did that help?”

“It did.”

Sherlock was quiet for a moment. “You didn’t do that just to see where to land the TARDIS, did you?” he asked shrewdly.

“No. I wanted to replay the entire encounter with Simeon,” he replied. “I wanted to see what you saw before we confronted him.”

“Ah.”

“You don’t think he’s controlling the snow,” the Doctor said as he went back to the console. “I could tell that much from your thoughts.”

“I do not,” Sherlock said. “I think something else is controlling him. You said the snow is telepathic in nature, correct, Madame Vastra?”

She nodded. “It’s a low level telepathic field.”

“Then I believe it has sufficient control over him to manipulate him into doing what it wants. That is the only way it could have known I was from the future. People who know that fact have been in contact with the snow since I have arrived. You told Clara the truth in the carriage, remember? And she is psychically linked to the snow. She was able to melt it. There’s no reason to believe it didn’t learn from her thoughts while she was linked to it.”

The Doctor was quiet for a moment. “Your deductions are usually sound,” he said finally. “We’ll attempt to do it my way, but we’ll see what happens.”

“Just make sure you don’t make a large problem worse,” Sherlock replied.

The Doctor didn’t respond, simply nodding as he went back to piloting the TARDIS. Finally they arrived at the institute, and the Doctor opened the door. Simeon was nowhere to be seen, so the Doctor went to his desk and made himself comfortable as Sherlock nosed around. Depending on how much time they had there could be quite a bit for them to learn. It was roughly thirty minutes later that the door burst open. “I see you took your time to get here,” the Doctor said from his position at the desk. He was leaning back in the chair with his feet up on it.

“Kindly remove your shoes from my desk,” he replied coldly.

The Doctor took his feet off and leaned forward instead. “I have the piece of the ice governess. But I want an explanation first. Why are you doing this?”

“Didn’t you know?” Sherlock said before Dr. Simeon could speak. He glared at Sherlock. “World domination. Or a new world order is more accurate, I suppose. It’s been something it’s been whispering in his ear for a long time.” He closed the book he had been looking at, the one he had picked up earlier in the afternoon. “A very long time, I imagine.”

“How long?” Madame Vastra asked.

“Since he was a child,” Sherlock said, going back to the book for a moment.

“He is a threat,” the disembodied voice said. “He should be eliminated.”

The Doctor stood up now, moving towards the giant glass globe. “I think we should see what’s really going on,” he replied, He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the globe.”

“Stop. Stop! What are you doing?” the voice asked, fluctuating between the deep voice of before and a young boy’s voice. Dr. Simeon made a move to go towards the globe but Madame Vastra pulled out her sword and blocked his way. “No. No!” The last part sounded exactly like a child. “What have you done?”

“Stripped away the disguise. You can’t hide anymore,” the Doctor replied.

“Doctor…” Sherlock said as a realization dawned on him as he read further in the book.

“You wanted the ice governess? It’s in the tin,” he continued, ignoring Sherlock. He picked it up and handed it to Dr. Simeon. “It won’t do you any good now.”

“Doctor!” Sherlock said sharply. “Don’t!” It was too late. Dr. Simeon grasped the memory worm tightly, falling to the floor and twitching slightly. “Damn,” he murmured.

“What is it?” the Doctor asked, his eyes wide.

Sherlock walked up to the glass globe. “You don’t need the ice governess when you have a perfectly blank slated human to inhabit, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes,” the voice said, back to sounding as it had, deep and manly and dangerous. “You have done me a favor Doctor. Snow is hard to use to wipe out the pitiful human race. This…this is much better.” Dr. Simeon got up, as though being controlled by puppet strings. Madame Vastra made a move to stop him but he batted her out of the way as if she was an annoyance, heading for the Doctor. He tackled him to the ground and placed either hand on his face, and suddenly he was freezing the Doctor. “Winter is coming.”

“This is not Game of Thrones,” Sherlock said from behind him, swinging the thick book hard against the back of Dr. Simeon’s head. The man fell down unconscious, releasing his grip on the Doctor’s head. The Doctor looked up at Sherlock, raising an eyebrow. “Amelia’s a fan,” he said with a slight shrug.

“A pop culture reference from you? I think I’ve heard everything now,” he said, shoving Dr. Simeon to the side and standing up. “We still have a problem, though.”

“No, Doctor,” Madame Vastra said, moving towards the globe. “It raining.”

Sherlock and the Doctor moved over to the globe, looking at it curiously. Instead of snow swirling around in the globe it appeared as though rain was falling to the bottom. The Doctor hurried over to the window and threw it open. It was raining outside as well. “Rain…” he murmured as Madame Vastra and Sherlock joined him. He stuck his hand out after a moment, and then licked his palm. “No. Not rain.”

Madame Vastra and Sherlock both did the same thing. “It’s salty,” Madame Vastra said.

“It tastes exactly like tears,” Sherlock said, looking over at the Doctor. 

The Doctor nodded. “The snow is telepathically linked to the thoughts of a girl. To Francesca. And there is only one thing that could turn all the snow in London to rain. We need to hurry back to Darkover House.”

“What about Dr. Simeon?” Madame Vastra asked.

“Later. It’s important,” the Doctor said, rushing back to the TARDIS. Sherlock picked up the book he had dropped, the one he had hit Dr. Simeon with, and then he and Madam Vastra joined him inside. The Doctor was already at the console, and then after a moment the TARDIS landed and he threw open the doors, running back into the study at Darkover House. The sound of weeping could be heard clearly as he moved over to Clara. “Strax?”

“She has moments,” he replied.

The Doctor nodded, moving towards Clara. “I am sorry,” he said quietly as he knelt next to her. “I am so, so sorry.”

“Are they safe?” she asked.

“Yes, quite safe,” he said, taking one of her hands in his and using the other to brush her hair back. “All of London is safe. The whole world, in fact.”

“Good,” she said. “I wish I could have gone with you.”

“I wish you could have, too.”

She took a labored breath. “Doctor?”

“Yes?” he asked.

“Run,” she said. “Run, you clever boy. And remember.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Clara…” He watched her as she took one last breath, and then she was still. He let go of her hand, taking a step back.

“Doctor?” Strax asked.

“She said the same thing. In the Asylum. Oswin said the same thing,” he said quietly. “Those were her last words to me.”

“The woman who was the Dalek?” Sherlock asked.

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Curious,” he replied.

The Doctor looked at him. “Yes. Quite curious.” He glanced over at Captain Latimer and his children, watching Jenny try and comfort them. “I think we should give them peace and quiet,” he said. “Time to mourn.”

“But what about the boy?” Strax asked.

The Doctor looked at Sherlock. “We make sure she’s remembered,” he said. “And we find out how she could exist in two places at once.”

Sherlock nodded. “Yes. That sounds like a plan.”

The Doctor looked away and turned to Madame Vastra. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements for Clara,” she said. 

“Thank you,” he replied. He made his way out of the study, Sherlock right behind him. They went to the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the doors. He went to the console and placed both his hands on it. “Another one I failed to save,” he said quietly.

Sherlock bent down and picked the now forgotten key off the floor. “You’ll make sure you remember her,” he said quietly, moving to join him at the console.

“I remember them all. I’ll never forget any of them.” He turned to look at Sherlock when he was beside him. Sherlock held out the key in the palm of his hand, and the Doctor shook his hand. “Keep it. Neither you or Amy have one. I should have given it to the both of you ages ago.”

He nodded and pocketed the key. “So now what?”

“Now we try and start unraveling a mystery,” he replied. “Are you up for it?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Good. I think we’re in for a long night.” Then he glanced over at the console and picked up the book. “What was this?” he asked.

“Dr. Simeon’s journal. He’d kept it since he was a boy. It wasn’t until the end when I’d found the musings on him using some other means to give the Great Intelligence human form if the pond at Darkover House didn’t yield results.”

He thought for a moment, and then handed the book to Sherlock. “I think we have two mysteries to work out, then. Study that book. Learn all you can from it, because I don’t think the Great Intelligence is a problem that is going to go away. Let’s go back to the institute. We can always see what we can learn there.”

Sherlock nodded. “All right.” The Doctor began to move around the console as Sherlock moved away, looking at the book. He got the feeling that this particular mystery was going to have far reaching effects. He just hoped he could solve it.


	8. Chapter 8

The funeral was a solemn affair. There were not many mourners, just the children and Captain Latimer standing by the grave, with Sherlock, Madame Vastra, Jenny and the Doctor standing farther back. The Doctor held flowers in his hand, looking dejected. Sherlock wasn't sure what to do or say to comfort his son-in-law at that point. The loss of Clara had hit him hard. Finally he spoke. “There is still the mystery,” he said quietly.

“The mystery of Clara and Oswin?” the Doctor asked.

Yes," Sherlock said with a nod. “It's peculiar that there could be two women at two different points in history who look and sound exactly the same.” Sherlock watched as the mourners went away. “And then there's the fact they both told you the same exact phrase as they were dying. If you focus on that it might help.”

“I had wanted to whisk her away, to take her on adventures,” he said with a sad smile. “It's never a good idea for me to be without a companion for this long.”

“You could always have River travel with you.”

“She's busy with her own life, doing the things she hasn't gotten to do since she got locked up for my murder. And soon she'll be gone, too.” He sighed. “I'm going to take her. If she asks again, I'll take her. I can only put off the inevitable for so long.”

“I suppose I'll have to accept that,” Sherlock replied. “But at least I get more time with Melody. River might not come back, but for now I still have Melody.” He nodded over towards the grave. “You should leave the flowers and pay your respects now.”

“That's a good idea.” The four of them moved towards the grave, and the Doctor stopped as soon as he caught sight of the tombstone. “That's not possible.”

“What's not possible?” Madame Vastra asked.

“Her name. Her full name. The whole time I've been here I hadn't thought to ask her full name. Stupid. _Stupid._ ”

Sherlock glanced at the tombstone and her eyes widened. “Clara Oswin Oswald,” he murmured.

“Why is that important?” Jenny asked.

“The girl in the Dalek asylum. The one who looked like Clara. Her name was Oswin Oswald. I know this, I've had it in my head. I never forget the names of the people I can't save.”

“Maybe Clara is an ancestor?” Madame Vastra suggested.

“But for them to sound perfectly identical? And look exactly the same? And say _that_ phrase? No, there's something else at play here. Something bigger. And I'm going to find out what.” He laid the flowers down on the grave and looked at Sherlock. “I'll need your help, Sherlock. I want to find out exactly how this could happen.”

Sherlock nodded. “I'll help however I can,” he said with a nod.

“Then we should go. I need to take you home, and then I need to ruminate on a few things. I need time and space to do that, and quiet. Lots of quiet.” 

“Very well,” Sherlock said with a nod before the two of them began to leave.

“Doctor?” Madame Vastra asked.

“Yes?” he replied, pausing.

“Do be careful. If there is some bigger plan at play, you might be in danger.”

He nodded. “I will try my best, I promise.” Then he turned back to Sherlock. “Come on. Time to take you home.”

“At least a bit after the fight,” Sherlock said.

“Do you think five hours would do?” the Doctor asked as they moved away from the others.

“That might be sufficient,” he replied with a nod.

“We need to hurry. I'm sorry you won't have time to change back into your old clothes. I need to get you back to modern day London and start solving this mystery.”

“Just put them in my room and I can retrieve them later,” he said.

“All right.” They got to the TARDIS and the Doctor snapped his fingers. The two men entered and then the Doctor went to the console, beginning to do his usual dance around it as he piloted it. After a moment he stopped. “221B Baker Street, five hours later.” The he paused. “I won't see you for at least time, so Happy Christmas, Sherlock.”

Sherlock nodded as he made his way to the door. “Happy Christmas, Doctor.” After that he opened the doors and stepped outside, then took a few steps back and turned to watch the TARDIS dematerialize. After that he went back to the house. He realized he had left his home without his wallet or his keys, and he hoped he could get in. Just as he got to the door it opened, and Mrs. Hudson looked up at him. “Mrs. Hudson,” he said with a nod.

She looked him over. “Trip with the Doctor?” she asked.

“Yes. I've just returned.”

“Ah.” She moved out of the way. “I'm on my way out, but I had a chat with Amy before she left. She's quite upset.”

He sighed. “Yes, I know. We had a row.”

“Well, give her time. I think I convinced her it wasn't right to throw the whole lying about the smoking situation in your face. The rest of it I hope your daughter can help her sort out.”

“Did she take Melody with her?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I'm only popping to the corner market for something I desperately need for supper. Melody is asleep and I figured I could ask out neighbor to watch her for a minute. But since you're here I suppose I can just run out and come back.”

“Is she in the nursery?”

“Yes. She's been asleep for an hour. Amy's been gone for four.”

“Then go get what you need and I'll take care of my daughter. Thank you for watching over her.”

“Oh, you're quite welcome.” She hesitated for a moment, then reached over and embraced him. “It will all be all right, Sherlock. You'll see.”

He embraced her back. “Thank you, Mrs. Hudson.”

“Think nothing of it.” She let go and moved out the door and he made his way inside more. He shut the door behind him and then made his way up to the nursery. He had sorely missed his family while he had been gone, and as he stared down at his sleeping daughter he realized no matter what he would not let this happen again. He would not let his temper get the better of him again. He ran a knuckle down her cheek, then moved away and made his way to his bedroom. He changed out of the suit he had been wearing and hung it up in the closet. Then it hit him that he had not taken his Belstaff coat off the TARDIS. He bit back a sigh and then reached for the coat he had been wearing while dealing with the case. It would have to do until he could get another one.

He changed into a more comfortable suit and took the coat out to the sitting room, hanging it on the coat rack. He looked around and saw his experiment was still in the kitchen. It had already finished, and he was too late to record the results. He could always run it again, but now was not the time. In the end he sat in his chair, content to stay quiet and think. He dimly heard the door open, but when he looked up and didn't see Amelia enter he ignored it, going back to thinking. He lost track of how much time had passed before he heard it open again, and this time he heard footsteps coming up to the sitting room. He looked up and saw her enter. “I see you're home,” she said quietly, setting her purse down on the table.

He nodded. “Yes.” They were both quiet for a moment. “Amelia...”

She shook her head, holding up her hand. “I need to say something to you. A few things, actually.”

He nodded again, more slowly this time. “All right.”

She moved over to him. “I'm sorry I threw you lying about the smoking back in your face. Sometimes I forget that you've had an addiction before. I keep forgetting how hard it was for you to quit in the first place, and I know you only lied because you knew I would get upset. I wasn't as upset when it did all come out, but I suppose I was hurt you'd kept a bigger secret this time. And I should have listened when you tried to tell me you'd asked before I asked you not to. River said she remembered you and the Doctor having that conversation when she was only a few months old, and I know it was before I asked you not to find out about our future.”

“I should have told you I knew,” he said quietly.

“I can see why you didn't, though.” She moved over to his chair and sat down on the arm of it. “I talked to River. She told me she wanted to go, and knowing you objected because you knew the truth of what that trip meant I convinced her not to go, not yet. When she asked why I said spoilers. She seemed to understand it would be an ending.”

“She'll have to go eventually,” he replied. “It has to happen or else the Doctor and his companion will die.”

“But it doesn't have to happen now. We can still have some time with River.” After a moment she hesitantly reached over for his hand, grasping it. “I decided I want to know. I want to know everything the Doctor was willing to tell you about River's death. And I want to know anything else he's told you about our lives. I want us both to know the exact same things when it comes to our family. No more secrets.”

He nodded. “I'll tell you everything he's told me.”

“Good.” She gave him a small smile and he gave her one in return, moving his hand to hold hers more tightly. Then she leaned over and kissed him softly, and at that moment he knew everything was going to be okay. All was right with his world, and it appeared it would stay this way, hopefully for quite a long time.


End file.
